Michael J. Fox will receive the ATX Television Festival’s annual Award in Television Excellence.
The honor is part of the first wave of programming for the festival’s 10th “season” — which also includes a retrospective of HBO’s Oz (initially planned for last year) and panels featuring Small Axe creator and director Steve McQueen, comedian and soon to be Showtime host Ziwe and a screening of Fox’s animated comedy Housebroken.
Additionally, the ten-day virtual festival will feature a look back at MTV’s 2013-16 series Faking It; a premiere of the third installment of short-form comedy Speech & Debate; and topical panels about adult animation, the queer gaze, emotional catharsis in horror, the new generation of YA shows and a “Showrunner State of the Union.”
The festival has given the Award in Television Excellence since 2014; Fox joins a list of honorees that also includes Henry Winkler, James L. Brooks, Norman Lear, Marcy Carsey, and Phylicia Rashad. The five-time Emmy winner will take part in a conversation that spans his time on Family Ties, Spin City, The Good Wife and other series.
The ATX Festival will take place virtually for the second straight year but expand substantially from its usual four-day window so it can emphasize interactive events and “appointment viewing” for certain panels. The second weekend of the fest will also stage events in Austin to emphasize the festival’s ties to the city.